Puddlemere
by CakeTwins
Summary: Two American witches land in Puddlemere...and find two surprises. PG for occasional language.
1. A whole new country

Marion Nicholas wiped some mist off of the train window. Boy, she thought, England sure is foggy. All she could see was clouds. And more clouds. She had no clue clouds could be that thick. She sighed and looked next to her at her friend, Carrie Copola. She was fast asleep, with her head hanging off to one side. They were both 20 years old, and were moving to the small town of Puddlemere, from the United States. The wizarding population was much larger in Britain, and Marion had had a pen pal from Puddlemere, who suggested the town as a starting point for the two of them. Eager to leave the States, they agreed readily, and made the necessary arrangements. They were renting a small, two-bedroom house in "downtown" Puddlemere, and Carrie was to work in a nearby pet shop, while Marion would man a concession stand, among other things, at the local Quidditch stadium. Suddenly, the train slowed, and she peered out the window to see where they were. She could make out lights shining dimly through the thick fog, and prodded Carrie to wake her up.  
  
"Psst- Carrie!" Her friend grumbled and turned to glare at her. "I think we're here. What time is it?" Carrie blinked her eyes several times to adjust them to the light, and studied her watch.  
  
"Almost 4 o'clock. Wait...no. That'd be American time... uh... What's the time difference between England and the east coast?" Marion thought for a second.  
  
"Uh.. six hours, I'm pretty sure. So it'd be ten...yeah, that seems about right." She looked out the window again. "Though it's hard to tell through all of this fog," she muttered. The train stopped completely.  
  
"Okay, let's go!" Carrie grabbed their carry-ons, and they made their way off the train. ~  
  
There weren't that many people on the train, so the platform wasn't crowded at all. Besides, Marion couldn't see why a whole trainload of people might be getting off at Puddlemere... As they departed the train, she noticed something standing out in the corner of her vision. Two bright red-haired men were standing near the train waving off a third, since the train was boarding passengers to take back to London, and their hair stood out vividly compared to the rest of the people, who merely blended into the dimness. Kind of like reflectors... Marion mused to herself.  
  
She and Carrie retrieved their baggage from a porter, and asked directions to Drayton Place. It turned out to only be two streets over, and they had no trouble finding their small white house, even though they couldn't make out the green trim in the dark. They found the two beds and immediately flopped into them, and were asleep in minutes.  
  
~ 


	2. First day on the job

The next day, the sun shone through the curtains, making Carrie squint as she tried to open her eyes. She looked around the room, and thought it to be pretty bare. Maybe today after work she and Marion could go and get some stuff to spice it up. But for now, her first priority was work. Carrie really had no worth ethic unless someone was on her case, but when she was getting paid, she took her job very seriously.  
  
Okay, does this look okay? She asked herself, looking in the mirror. Oh, I hope this goes well. And why do I have to be up so early? Marion doesn't go to work until nine, and I have to be there by eight. Oh well.  
  
Finally, she was confident with herself and her appearance, and set out to walk the two blocks to work. She thought about apparating, but then she realized how shocked she would have been if a new employee suddenly appeared right in front of her.  
  
She approached the door of Poppy Pete's Pretty Purple Pet Place Parked in Peaceful Puddlemere. Opening the door, she saw that the whole store was purple, and as soon as she walked in, many dogs started barking at her.  
  
"Hey, you must be the newbie." A worker said, coming up to her.  
  
"Yes." She muttered, her shyness breaking through once again.  
  
"Oh good! I'll go get the manager!" He said, and walked off. Later, he came back with another man, who must have been Pete.  
  
"Hi, I'm Carrie." Carrie said, trying to be assertive, which obviously wasn't working too well for her.  
  
"And I'm Pete- owner of the place. Nice you have you; glad you got here so early. You can get started right away. Puppies, you like, I take it?" Carrie nodded. "Okay, well then, they're in the front here, I'm sure you heard them as you walked in."  
  
"Yeah." Carrie smiled.  
  
"Well, have a good day!" He said, and walked through a purple door to yet another purple room.  
  
Carrie walked over to the puppies, and smiled again as they barked at her. She looked at the schedule on the wall that she saw, showing the employees when to feed them, and now happened to be just the right time. As soon as she put the first cup of food in the first bowl, all of the dogs started to go wild. When she had finally fed all of the dogs, and when they were munching happily away, she checked her watch. Nine thirty, Marion should be in work right now. I wonder how she's doing.  
  
~  
  
Marion woke up around eight thirty, and shuffled into the kitchen to eat breakfast. As she opened the refrigerator, she groaned. They hadn't even bought any food last night! Carrie didn't need breakfast, but Marion was always ravenous in the morning. She grumbled and got dressed quickly to head to work. As she rounded the corner, the smell of...something good...reached her nose. Wishing Carrie was around to tell her the time, she ran across the street to the small bakery that stood there: Walifer's Fresh Baked Goods.  
  
A little bell dingled as she entered, and the smell of fresh bread was overwhelming. A tall, redheaded man was being helped at the counter, so she took the time to look around. The bakery was small and clean, with bright yellow walls that gave the small room a spacious look. As she directed her attention outside, she realized that the sun was actually shining. Her sixth day in England, and it was the first time the sun had peeked out. Marion turned back to the counter. The baker, presumably Mr. Walifer, was handing the red-haired customer a box of cream puffs. Just as Marion was wondering what on earth someone would do with cream puffs this early in the morning, the man turned, shot her a startled look, and left the shop.  
  
"Mornin'!" The baker turned to Marion. He was just what she'd always imagined a British baker to look like- plump, pink, and jolly. "New around *ere, I gather?" [I]Friendly, too.[/I] Marion grinned in spite of her hunger.  
  
"That's right, just moved in last night."  
  
"Well, we don't get too many newcomers 'ere, but it'll be a pleasure to have ya, I'm sure. What can I getcha?" Marion scanned the racks of bread behind him... she could barely tell the difference between a round bread and a loaf, much less a wheat bread from a rye.  
  
"Um... what would you suggest for a morning snack?"  
  
She left the shop a few minutes later, considerably more happy, chewing on some kind of strawberry-filled pastry. The Quidditch stadium wasn't hard to find at all, it was the tallest spot in the entire town. She reached the gates at the entrance right about nine, by her estimate, and found them locked.  
  
"Uh... hello?" Marion walked around the stadium a ways, to see if there was an alternate entrance, or if anyone was around. No one. When she got back to the front gates, she saw a sturdy-looking, dark-haired young man unlocking the gates, while juggling a box and a few broomsticks. Marion jogged towards him. "Hey! Excuse me!" He whipped around, startled, and nearly dropped everything he was carrying.  
  
"...Hello," he said, taken aback. Obviously, he was surprised at the obvious American accent. "Can I help you with something?"  
  
"Yeah, I mean yes, yes you can. My name is Marion Nicholas, I'm supposed to start work here this morning, only I showed up at nine and the gates were locked, and I couldn't find anyone, so I thought I'd walk around you know, just to see if there was another entrance, but it just figures that there isn't... I always have bad luck..." Marion realized that she was babbling, and promptly shut her mouth. The man was staring at her even more strangely now.  
  
"...[I]You're[/I] Marion Nicholas?" She nodded. "You're the new worker?" Marion nodded again, wondering why he had to keep asking these questions when she'd already told him. "Well, I didn't expect you to be American... but... well... you [I]do[/I] play Quidditch there, don't you?" Marion was indignant.  
  
"Of [I]course[/I] we do! We're not some kind of... of... uncivilized nation! How could you even [I]think[/I] that?!" Marion could feel that her face was red, and she was glaring at the poor guy, but...you don't just go around saying things like that about her favorite sport. Sure, she was a worthless player, but she was as avid a fan as could be.  
  
"Er... well... I didn't mean..." The young man shifted his weight to better hold the box. Marion realized how awful she was being.  
  
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I get carried away, especially if I haven't had much breakfast... can I help you with that?" He nodded gratefully, and handed her the broomsticks.  
  
"I'm Oliver, by the way. Oliver Wood. Keeper for the Puddlemere team, and this is my first year off the reserve team, which is why [I]I'm[/I] opening up this morning..." He grinned at her. "You'll pretty much be doing the same kind of work as me, when I'm not practicing. They spend less time with me than the older players. So I get the janitorial work..." Another grin. [I]He's nice,[/I] Marion thought, [I]Not quite my type, but... maybe I'll point him out to Carrie sometime.[/I] She laughed inwardly at herself, always keeping an eye out for good prospects for her friend.  
  
"That's okay, I'm starting from the bottom up too..." Marion grinned back at him, and they got to work. 


	3. A familiar face

At work, Carrie's thoughts shifted back to her job, when one of the puppies, a small blue one, (who stood out very much, considering most of the other puppies has a slightly purplish tint to them) started to lick her face. Carrie laughed delightedly, and then thought of what Marion would say if she brought the dog home. Would she like him, or would she make her take him back?  
  
Now more and more of the dogs were finished eating. Looking at the small (purple) cages of to which she was to put them back into, an idea formulated in her mind. She didn't want to stick them back into those tiny spaces... Carrie pulled her wand out of her bag, muttered a few words, gave it a quick flick, and suddenly the cages disappeared, and a great purple landscape took their place..  
  
[I]Purple?[/I] She wondered, but then realized that [I]everything[/I] in this store was purple. With another flick of her wand, purple picket fences popped up around the field so the dogs would not roam all of the store.[I]That should work.[/I] she thought. She picked up the puppies and placed them into the grassy area, where they looked very happy, and went over to work the cash register of that section. Soon people started to come in, and by lunch break she had sold two purple puppies and many dog accessories. But Carrie noticed that no one even seemed to be paying attention to the blue puppy. For the rest of the morning she kept her eye on him.  
  
~  
  
By the time that Marion's lunch break had rolled around, the Puddlemere team had started practice, and she was left to repairing the box seats by herself. She had an hour to dine, and decided to take a stroll through the downtown.  
  
Puddlemere was only populated by wizards, but it was tiny. The entire downtown was around three square blocks. She saw only one apothecary, and Walifer's bakery appeared to be the only one around. As she was walking, Marion noticed two brightly colored buildings next to each other. One was Poppy Pete's Pretty Purple Pet Place Parked in Peaceful Puddlemere, and as bright purple. The other was an interesting -looking shop, whose name immediately caught her eye. [I]Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Inc.[/I] The building never stayed one color, it was always changing, from green, to orange, to blue, to fuscia... Marion's attention was caught, and she felt compelled to investigate this interesting find.  
  
The inside was lined with shelves containing various everyday objects, from normal looking rubber balls to delectable cream puffs. Above a few shelves were posters of people turning into strange things, with curling green smoke pouring out of their ears and such. Intrigued, Marion was wandering around, peering at the cluttered shelves, when a voice from behind her made her jump.  
  
"Can I help you?"  
  
Marion whirled around to see a vaguely familiar face. "I...." The girl that she was looking at was trying to recognize her, too. That long brown hair...those expressive eyebrows...  
  
[I]Why does she look so familiar?[/I] Marion thought. [I]I don't even know anyone in Puddle-[/I]  
  
"[U]Nancy?[/U]" She exclaimed just as the other person cried out "Marion?" Now it was obvious; the girl was Nancy Ferguson, Marion's pen pal since her fifth year. She'd seen pictures, of course, but it was different to see someone in person. "How do you like Puddlemere?" Nancy asked. Marion shrugged. "Well, we only just got in..." Nancy nodded in sympathy.  
  
"Don't worry, you'll love it here! Now..." she scanned the room. "Can I sell you anything?" Marion grinned.  
  
"Well...Carrie [I]could[/I] use a pick-me-up... Any suggestions?"  
  
~  
  
Lunch break came, and to Carrie's surprise, Pete put a "closed" sign on the door and invited her and the rest of the employees into a purple room for lunch. This was strange for Carrie, because usually you took breaks in shifts, and didn't normally eat in the store. After eating lunch with some of the staff, she went back over to the puppies. She watched them play, and then looked at the little blue puppy, estranged from the rest.  
  
"Awww. You poor thing. You just want someone to love you." She whispered to the little puppy, then decided that she would defiantly ask Marion about him. The rest of the day was quite uneventful, and before she knew it, it was time to go.  
  
Walking back to her house, she passed a small grocery store. [I]Oh good.[/I] Carrie thought. She hadn't eaten breakfast this morning, and totally forgot that there was no food in the house. She walked into the store and grabbed a basket to start shopping. As she piled items into the basket, she glimpsed a tall, dark-haired man shopping across the aisle. She loved tall guys, and craned her neck to get a better look, but as she turned, she accidentally bumped into an old lady, and by the time she had recovered and apologized, he was gone.  
  
~ 


	4. A surprise for Carrie

Later that day, after a vigorous afternoon of trophy scrubbing, (fifty-two in all) Marion reached the house carrying a few packages. Carrie was in the kitchen unloading groceries. Marion hallooed as she opened the door.  
  
"I'm hooome!" She plopped her packages on the table. "All right! Food!"  
  
"Hi!" said Carrie, looking up from her position on the floor in front of the fridge. "How was work?"  
  
"Oh, it was okay. I'm starting from the bottom up, of course; janitorial crap and stuff... but I don't plan to make it my career. Besides, the new keeper on the team... Oliver something, gets stuck with a lot of the same jobs, and he's [I]cute![/I] You'd like him. Great accent." Marion winked. She and Carrie, typical Americans, had a thing for British accents. "But anyway... you?" She slipped a small, brightly wrapped package stamped with WWWInc. Into her pocket, and unwrapped the lemon sponge cake that she'd bought.  
  
"Great! I love working with these puppies. They're so cute! The only problem I can foresee is my getting attached to them..." She glanced hopefully at Marion, who sighed.  
  
"Carrie, you know I love dogs as much as you, but not until we've got more time!" Carrie stuck out her tongue in response, and spied the cake.  
  
"Cake! Where'd you get that?"  
  
"There's this great bakery just down the street- Walifer's- the owner is really nice, and they have delicious food. I went there for breakfast." Marion grinned. She and Carrie absolutely [I]loved[/I] cake. "Come on, let's eat. I'm famished!"  
  
After supper, Marion sliced two pieces of cake for Carrie and herself, and pulled her small package out of her pocket. While Carrie was innocently eating her cake, Marion snuck up behind her, (on the pretense of washing her plate) and carefully aimed the little blue and white ball that she'd bought at carrier's head. It was supposed to melt on impact, causing the receiver to turn the same colors as the ball- which in this case also happened to be the Yankees* colors. (Carrie hated the Yankees. She was a Mets fan through and through.) Marion thought that it would be an amusing welcome gift; turning her friend blue and white.  
  
Carrie stood up and turned around just as the ball hit her face. It hit her with a SPLAT, and drips of white and blue splattered all over the room, a particularly large blue one landing on Marion's nose. Carrie was indignant.  
  
"Why you-!" She reached for Marion, who was grinning mischievously, then stopped and stared at her. Her eyes widened, and a large guffaw worked its way out, until Carrie had sunk back into her chair, gasping for breath between laughs.  
  
Marion, in the meantime, was wondering why Carrie wasn't blue and white, and was seriously annoyed at the fact that Carrie was laughing at [I]her.[/I] Just who the hell did she think she was? Marion was the prankster here.  
  
"[I]What?[/I]" Carrie wiped a few tears away, and pointed at Marion's face. Marion reluctantly went to the bathroom mirror. What she saw shocked her.  
  
Carrie hadn't turned colors, but Marion had. Instead of blue and white, however, Marion's whole face had turned a bright sky blue, along with the tips of her fingers, which she had touched her face with.  
  
"CARRIE!" She bellowed. Carrie, slightly recovered, but dissolving into giggles from time to time, arrived to try and scrub the blue off of Marion's mortified face, but only succeeded in staining the washcloth.  
  
"It's no use, Marion," Carrie sighed, after seven washcloths and one towel. "It's not coming off." Marion sank onto the floor.  
  
"What am I going to DO?" She wailed. Carrie raised an eyebrow.  
  
"May I remind you, that up until half an hour ago, you were prepared to let me go out into public like this?"  
  
"Not like THIS! White [I]and[/I] blue, and ALL of you, not just your face and hands!" Carrie shook her head, chuckling. Marion grabbed her arm. "You have to go back there for me and get my money back!"  
  
"Why can't you?"  
  
"LOOK AT ME!" Marion thrust her hands in front of Carrier's face.  
  
"Okay, okay, I'll go. Just...be good." She winked at Marion, and left before the store closed.  
  
~  
  
Carrie walked into the joke shop, not quite sure what she was going to say. No one seemed to be behind the counter, but there was a person standing in front of it, apparently waiting for someone. She walked up to the counter as well.  
  
"Hi." Said the man that was standing there. "You're new in town?"  
  
"Yeah." Carrie smiled, and realized that he was the man she had seen in the grocery store, and was actually quite cute.  
  
"Welcome to town, I'm Oliver Wood."  
  
"I'm Carrie Copola. Do you know my friend, Marion, I think she said she worked with you." [I]Wow.[/I] she thought, looking up into his deep blue eyes.  
  
"Oh, yes, I should have recognized the accent. American?" She nodded her head. "And I hear there's Quidditch there too?" They both grinned; Carrie had heard Marion's account of her meeting with Oliver earlier.  
  
"Yes! I used to play for my school- a chaser." She replied, a very large smile on her face as she looked up at him.  
  
"So I guess you're pretty good."  
  
Carrie shrugged, " I guess so." She replied, and felt herself blushing. He surveyed her, the bright green eyes that reflected the freckles that were scattered under them and on her nose. The blonde streaks in her hair could be seen as it was partially tied up.  
  
"Hey, there aren't any Quidditch games or anything going for a couple of weeks. So maybe you'd want to go out to dinner or something on Saturday? 'Cause I have practice tomorrow night"  
  
Her eyes bored into his, and although it was only a few seconds, it felt like a lifetime before she said, "I'd like that."  
  
"Great! So, I'll, uh, meet you, uh, where do you live?" He asked, slightly losing his cool.  
  
"The little white and green house just a few blocks out of downtown... on Drayton Place."  
  
"Okay, I'll pick you up there at seven."  
  
The two walked out, just as a worker came to the counter.  
  
"Wait! Oliver! You forgot your ton-tongue toffees!" He yelled after him, but Oliver couldn't hear him, since he was already out the door. "Fine. Ditch us for a girl. We can make more of a profit selling it to [I]real[/I] customers.  
  
~ 


	5. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Inc

Marion was fuming when Carrie returned without her money. She slammed her door angrily and went to bed, hoping that none of the blue stained her clean sheets. It took her quite a while to fall asleep, and by that time, she'd made up her mind to march on down to the shop herself.  
  
When she peeked out of her door the next morning, Marion saw no sign of Carrie, and proceeded to dress, wrapping a thick scarf around her face and neck, and slipping on gloves, despite the warm, fall weather. She was still so angry from the night before, that she didn't even bother to eat breakfast.  
  
Marion reached Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Inc. before it was even open. But that didn't stop her. She pounded on the door, through which she could dimly see someone moving around. When they didn't answer, she knocked harder, and finally, annoyed, the worker opened the door. It was the same redheaded man that she'd seen in the bakery the day before.  
  
"Can I [I]help[/I] you?" he asked. Marion was so pissed that she could have slapped him. Her face and hands were blue, she'd wasted good money, missed breakfast, was going to be late on her second day of work, and this jerk was being [I]sarcastic[/I]. She demanded to be let in, and he bowed her inside with mock courtesy. "What seems to be the problem, ma'am?"  
  
"That's MISS to you, and THIS is the problem!" Marion yanked off her gloves, and pulled hard on one side of her scarf, nearly choking herself. The young man leaned back against the counter casually, his impish green eyes shining with amusement as Marion struggled to reveal her face. "don't [I]smirk[/I] at me- fix it!" The guy yawned and stretched as he surveyed the damage.  
  
"Well. What happened here was obviously a malfunction of one of our Bouncing Berry Blooper Balls... I assume someone didn't aim it at you correctly?"  
  
"What are you talking about? I'm the one that bought it! I want my money back!" The man was obviously confused by this.  
  
"You...bought it and...used it on [I]yourself[/I]?"  
  
"NO you nitwit...! I bought it and used it on my friend, only SHE didn't change colors, [I]I[/I] did! And not the right colors either! Only blue, and only on my face and hands!" She held out her hands for him to examine, rather violently. This guy was getting on her nerves.  
  
Fred Weasley watched the American girl with amusement as she fumed to him about his product. He wasn't worried, things like this happened all the time... the people of Puddlemere just knew to be patient, and eventually the effects would wear off. Nothing that he and his twin brother George made and sold was really dangerous...well, not [I]much[/I] of it was, anyway. He looked at the girl again. She was yelling something about being blue, and was pointing angrily at her face. Boy, did she look good. Maybe he and George should experiment a little more with the BBBBs... (Bouncing Berry Blooper Balls) this could be a marketable party trick. As he scanned her face to see how completely the color covered it, he realized that if she weren't blue, she'd actually be kind of pretty. She had big, round brown eyes, which, under normal circumstances would be wide open, but were currently narrowed with rage. She had freckles splayed across her nose, that had turned deep blue to go with the sky blue of her face, and her thick brown hair was pulled back roughly, probably because she'd been in such a hurry to come down here and yell at him, but it was attractive nonetheless. Suddenly her voice penetrated his thoughts.  
  
"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?"  
  
"Er... Yes! Sure, we can give you a ten percent refund, but that's-"  
  
"Ten percent? TEN percent? You have [I]got[/I] to be kidding me. I paid good money for this, and I want it back!" She advanced angrily on him, looking even goofier as her face flushed with anger, causing her to turn purple. Fred found it immensely funny. He liked this chick.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"I DON'T CARE IF IT'S NOT YOUR POLICY, I- what?"  
  
"What's your name?" he repeated.  
  
"Um...Marion?"  
  
"Um Marion what?"  
  
"...Nicholas..." She was staring at him, confused. He grinned inwardly. Always make the first move, that's what he'd learned over the years. Especially when they're angry. Taking them by surprise is the best way to get dinner.  
  
"I'm Fred Weasley, nice to meet you," he shook her hand exuberantly. "Now, I want you to take this piece of paper on which I am about to write down an address and time, and meet me there tomorrow night." She blinked at him.  
  
"Uh...okay."  
  
"Now, if you'd please, I'm supposed to be opening the store. Have a nice day!" He propelled her towards the door. "Oh, and this should get rid of the blue." He tossed her a bottle of Magical Color Dissolvent, and waved her off. 


	6. Airhead Over There

Marion walked to the Quidditch stadium feeling vaguely confused. What had just happened there? One minute she'd been screaming at the guy for a full refund, and the next, she was accepting an invitation to dinner. There was really no reason for her to have said yes to him, he'd just caught her off guard, right? Marion started to evaluate the situation a bit more objectively. 

He was definitely good-looking, for one thing. THAT she'd noticed right away, it just hadn't registered through her anger. He had gorgeous red hair (she didn't like using that word for guys, it sounded too feminine, but there really was no other way to describe it) – it wasn't the pale, basically blond type or the dark nearly brown kind. No, his hair had been rich, fiery red. Marion had always thought that red hair could either look really good or VERY bad on guys. In this case, she thought a bit reluctantly, it was good. Ok fine. VERY good. 

And those eyes. Why did he have to have green eyes? Just REMEMBERING them made Marion's stomach flip-flop; she LOVED green eyes. Ok, so that was two points in his favor. Red hair, green eyes. She almost groaned when another thought popped into her head. HE had asked HER to come out with him. She hadn't had to do a thing. Darn it, that makes point number three. He was fast moving up from annoying clerk to extremely dateable man. 

A tickle in her nose warned her of an impending sneeze, and Marion dug through her pockets, looking for a tissue. She didn't find one, but she sniffled in surprise when her hand closed over the bottle of Dissolver. "Oh no! Off to work with a blue face," she muttered to herself, sitting down on the curb and pulling out her compact mirror. "He could have at least let me do this in the store!" 

With a sigh, she started srubbing away at her face with the shimmering liquid. A few minutes into the process, Marion realized that the bottle could be just another joke, and she scrambled for the mirror to make sure her face hadn't gone green or purple. But sure enough, the blue was fading and her peach complexion was starting to show through again. Relieved, she finished up, her thought a little less angry towards the red headed joker. 

Since she received no strange looks at work that day, Marion figured that the blue was safely gone. She was glad, because if the Dissolver hadn't worked she had been seriously considering standing Fred up. The arrogance of him, assuming that she'd say yes, just because she was _confused_. Ha. 

But, in the midst of this mental outburst, Marion caught herself feeling uncomfortably anxious about the next day's plans. 

By the following evening, Marion had forgiven Carrie for forgetting to get her money, and was helping her get ready for her much more traditional date with Oliver. 

"Now, he's kind of a jock, so you don't want to look too dressy, so dressing down would be good. Then again... you don't know where he's taking you, so dressing too casually could be bad. First dates aren't usually too elegant, right? So maybe we should just go with... THIS!" Slighty breathless from her own stream of logic, Marion pulled a blue sleeveless dress out of Carrie's closet. (When going out, the girls always wore muggle clothes, they found them more flattering than robes.) 

"Maybe..." Carrie sighed, snatching the dress out of Marion's hands and holding it up to herself. Tossing it onto the bed along with the other ten she'd already considered, she glanced at her friend. "And... maybe you should go get ready for YOUR big date with the mystery man." Marion threw a shoe at Carrie's head, and was almost to the door when Carrie stopped her, the blue dress back in her hands. "Do you think my velvet purse would go with this?" 

Marion rolled her eyes and checked Carrie's clock. 5:47. Olive was picking Carrie up at 7:00, and Marion was supposed to meet Fred in the plaza downtown at 6:45. She yanked open her closet and stared at her clothes... none of which seemed quite right. 

"CARRIE!" she wailed. 

Nearly an hour later, Marion had managed to decide on a pale green knee-length dress and was fussing about the make-up that Carrie was trying to put on her. 

"I looked better when I was BLUE, now let me go! I'm going to be late!" Marion grabbed her wrap, gave her friend a good luck hug, and trotted off trying not to look too eager. 

~

Fred saw Marion before she saw him. He was sitting on one of the benches in the plaza gazebo and he recognized her right away, even though she wasn't blue anymore. His throat caught, and he casually smoothed his hair before standing up to greet her. 

"Hi," he grinned as she eyed him a bit nervously. She looked great; he especially loved the fact that he was getting the full effect of her big brown eyes without having to dodge a death glare. If things went right tonight, he would avoid glares altogether this evening. Fred had worked very hard to make sure things would go right. 

"Hello..." Marion smiled nervously. "So... where are we going?" 

Fred offered his arm ceremoniously. "Allow me to show you." His eyes twinkled, and Fred could feel himself getting excited. He and Oliver had carefully planned out the night, since both were worried that going out in Puddlemere would be nothing compared to New York. So, while they couldn't really make the girls feel at home in their tiny little wizarding town, they COULD make this night special. Fred glanced sideways at Marion and noticed that she was chewing her lip nervously as they walked in silence. He really did like that dress she was wearing... 

As they passed through a small alley to get to the dinner spot, Fred felt Marion's hand stiffen on his arm. 

"All right there?" He looked down at her. Boy, she was a lot smaller than him... 

"Oh, I'm fine. I've just..." She jumped as a bird flew overhead, casting a shadow on the ground. "I've never liked the dark," she said in a small voice. 

It was such a vulnerable admission, and so different from the enraged customer he'd met the day before that it was all Fred could do to keep from smiling. Instead, he steadied his arm and drew her a bit closer to him. 

~

Afraid of being late, Carrie was always ready too early. Oliver wouldn't be there for another half hour, but she was ready to go. Not known to dress up, this was one of the rare occasions that she did. Hardly. She wore a denim skirt that came up to her knees, with a baby blue sweater. Annoyed at her hair for being so darn straight and plain, she pulled it up into a half ponytail. She changed her green earrings for her silver ones, tied a necklace on, and dabbed on a little makeup; she was ready to go. Only it was much to early.  
  
          Waiting felt like forever, and all she did was fret about the date. Finally, the doorbell rang. Making sure one more time that she was ready, Carrie went and opened the door. Oliver was there. 

"Ready?" He asked.

She looked up at him to see glistening green eyes. She hadn't realized before how much taller he was then her. "If not now, then never!" She replied, grinning, and walked out the door. The two of them started walking down the street when she finally asked, 

"Where are we going?" 

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "Now there wouldn't be much to the surprise if I _told_ you, would there?" 

"True." Carrie said, and they continued to walk, turning a corner or two every now and then. Even though Puddlemere was actually a small town, Carrie was still pretty new to it and had no idea where she was going. But somehow they must have gone through some fireplace grate or something, because before them stood a huge stadium. In the distance there was a huge castle, and the crowd seemed to be made up mostly of, well, students.  
  
~  
  
           Marion let out a small sigh of relief when they left the alley, although Fred's nearness had done much to distract her from her fears. She could hear water now, and wondered where they were heading. She looked up at Fred and smiled at his intent gaze which was directed ahead at some unseen point. As they walked on a dirt path, Marion took the opportunity to study him more closely.   
  
          He was casually but tastefully dressed. He too had chosen to wear muggle clothing - Marion especially liked the classic black tee-shirt which was just tight enough to show off his powerful build. Not a body builder, she decided, but a quidditch player. She'd wager her life that he played beater.  
  
         _I wouldn't mind getting stuck in a dark alley with him, Marion grinned to herself. He looked down at her, his eyes shining.  
  
         "Here we are!"  
  
          Marion looked around. They were by a creek- that was the water that she'd heard earlier- and there was a white sheet spread on the ground, set with a delectable-looking (but not too elegant) dinner; complete with goblets and wine. It was dimly lit; not by lamps, Marion noticed, but hundreds of fireflies positioned in the surrounding trees.  
  
         "Wow." she breathed.  
  
         "You like it?" Fred grinned, looking eager. He took her by the hand and led her to the picnic area. "Now, Oliver and. Carrie. will be joining us later," he had to think a moment to remember Carrie's name. "Just for some music and such, but they've got their own plans for now, so it's just the two of us." Marion sat down, staring in awe at the scene, and felt Fred adjust her wrap around her shoulders.  
  
         __What a catch, she thought. _I wonder if he's like this all the time_.   
  
         Marion was seriously considering grabbing Fred and running away with him forever when a loud BANG made her jump.  
  
        "What was that?" she asked Fred, peering in the direction of the noise. It happened again, this time accompanied with a bright yellow flash of light, and a triumphant shout. She looked at Fred, and saw him tense.  
  
        "Er. stay here," he commanded, and hurried off through the trees. ~  
  
         Fred could not believe this was happening. He turned around and saw Marion hugging her knees as she was left alone in the dark.  
  
        __Damn it George! He swore to himself. __What the hell do you think you're trying to pull here?   
  
        "George!" Fred yelled as he burst into a clearing.  
  
        "You called?" An identical grinning face appeared from behind a tree.  
  
        "What the hell are you __doing? "  
  
        "Testing," George answered, with an innocent look that did not fool Fred. "Just testing some new prototypes for the store." Fred glared at him.  
  
        "Just.keep it down, and don't play any dirty tricks. Or better yet- go somewhere else!"  
  
        "Sure, no problem!" George cheerfully waved Fred off. "Just don't eat your food." he muttered, picking up his things and leaving; a mischievous glint in his eye.  
  
        Fred froze. Don't eat your.  
  
        "Nooo!" He took off at a dead run for the picnic spot where Marion was waiting. ~  
  
         Marion, in the meantime, had gradually decided that the dark wasn't all that bad, and the fireflies made it better. She smoothed her hair and waited for Fred to come back. Then her hunger began to take hold. Not wanting to eat without Fred, she waited a little longer. As her stomach let out a loud rumble, she realized that she hadn't eaten lunch, for fear of bursting the seams on her dress. Finally she reached for her plate.  
  
        "Oh, it's going to be eaten anyway," she told the disapproving fireflies, and popped one of the cream puffs into her mouth.  
  
        "Nooo!" Just as she finished chewing, Fred came dashing back into the clearing.  
  
        "Whad?" she asked, her mouth full. He grabbed her plate away from her and held it higher than she could reach. "Hey! I'm hungry!" She grabbed for her food. "FINE." Giving up and dodging around Fred, Marion snatched a cream puff off of his plate.  
  
        And promptly turned into a bird._

 ~  
  
        "Real games haven't started quite yet, but I thought a school game might be just as fun." Oliver explained, and led Carrie to a box where they were many students, all wearing scarlet robes with a lion on them.  
  
      Carrie had a sudden realization. "Oliver, we're not, not at. Hogwarts, are we?" She asked, almost not believing that she had just said that.  
  
      "I think so. Unless it's changed its name in four years."  
  
      Carrie just looked out into the pitch. She had heard about this place before- but it was more beautiful then she imagined. It made her little school in the United States feel tiny compared to the magnificent castle and its surroundings.  
  
      "Oliver! Oliver Wood!" He turned to see a red-haired girl walking towards him. That hair looked awfully familiar, Carrie thought. "Oliver! What on _Earth are you doing here?"  
  
      "Just watching some Quidditch, Ginny." He replied, and then introduced the two girls. She turned out to be Fred Weasley's sister. The Fred that Marion was on a date with right now.  
  
      "We haven't had a good team since Fred and George left." Ginny explained to them. "Harry was still a great seeker, but he had to form almost a whole new team."  
  
       The continued to watch the game, cheering, and rooted for Gryffindor the whole time. In the end, Gryffindor lost, but it was a fun game to watch.  
  
       "Come on, let's get out of here before any of my old teachers see me." He said and started to walk down from the stands. "Besides, we're already late to meet Fred and Marion."  
  
       He took her hand, and together they walked back through another grate (Carrie wasn't paying too much attention to anything except Oliver's hand.) and towards a forest. Once they got there, the trees overhead blocked out the moonlight, and the scene became slightly spooky. Tensing up, Carrie instinctively tightened her grip on his hand. Sensing her anxiety, Oliver let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders, instead.  
  
      When they finally reached their destination, Carrie was in shock. The trees had parted for a clearing, and the moon and stars sparkled above them. Although there were no lights, there were many fireflies in the trees, which made everything glow.  
  
       Oliver looked around and saw Fred, but Marion wasn't with him. "Uh-oh" He said. Carrie looked at him and then at Fred. "What happened?" She asked, following him as he hurried over._

~  
  


When she had regained her normal shape, Marion stared at Fred. He stared back at her, apparently in shock.  
  
         "The Canary Creams." he breathed. Marion took a deep breath, her face turning red with anger.  
  
         "The _what? You __know about these?" she brandished one of the cream puffs at him, her voice growing steadily louder. "You let me __eat that?" She threw the cream at him. "How.DARE.you!" Marion grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be a cup, and tried to throw that too, but it was stuck fast to the ground. "I should have KNOWN! Famous Weasley twins! Always having to SHOW.OFF!" Just then, the cup broke free in her hand, and she was propelled flat on her back with a loud band, and showered with glittering confetti. "What is this, some kind of stupid joke?" She sat up violently, knocking over the bottle of wine that was next to her. Marion looked down at her hands, which were covered in sticky red wine, which was getting all over her dress. "I've had it." If there was one thing she hated most in life, it was having sticky hands. Well, that and pompous idiots like Airhead over there. She turned on her heel and ran out of the clearing.  
  
       Fred jolted back to reality. "Marion, wait!" he called after her. But she was already gone. "GEORGE!" he bellowed. "I'LL KILL YOU!" ~  
  
      Marion was already showered and in bed by the time that Carrie got home. She heard her door creak open.  
  
     "Marion?" Carrie whispered. "Oliver and I went to meet you two, but Fred said that plans had changed. Is everything alright?" Marion pretended to be asleep. Carrie hesitated. "Well. I'll be up for a little while if you need to come in and talk," she said, and quietly shut the door.  
  
      Marion rolled over and sighed. What a terrible night. Here she was thinking that Fred was being really sweet and romantic, when all he was really doing was trying out his stupid backfiring tricks for his shop. Well. He'd be lucky if she ever talked to __him again.  
  
      Well, after tomorrow of course. She intended to march back there and demand her full refund again. And this time, she wouldn't leave until she got it._


	7. Marion's Chapter

**Author's Note: ** Woah…I just realized that I think we left out the whole part that concerns Marion's getting ready for the date… Don't know _how _that happened… So I've reposted that chapter… I'm so sorry about that! LOL! And due to recent circumstances, Carrie won't be able to have enough material for a mixed chapter, so I'm going to post a whooole one about- Me. Aren't you all thrilled? I'd also like to thank all of you who reviewed and pestered me about getting this thing rolling again, because as the editor of the story, it's sort of my job to keep it on the move. Which I fully intend to do… lol! So keep reading!

**SO CHAPTER 6 HAS BEEN REPOSTED W/ THE REST OF IT… REREAD!**

            Marion woke on Saturday morning to a timid tapping on her door.

            "Um…Marion?" came Carrie's voice, "…you have a visitor."

            _What the-? Marion grumbled to herself as she rubbed her eyes and quickly tied her hair up in a messy heap. Her head felt sort of funny…fuzzy, almost. __I am not _getting sick…_She stumbled to the kitchen, and there, at HER table, was Fred._

            She blinked.

            He was still there, grinning broadly. (insolently, in her opinion)

            "Morning!" Marion tried (unsuccessfully) to stifle a yawn, and grunted in response. "I just wanted to let you know that everything that happened last night was courtesy of my brother- not me." _Brother? _Marion smacked her lips groggily, and robbed her head. Brother…a few moments passed, and she suddenly recalled that he had a twin- George, or Gerald…or or Genjamin or something. _Genjamin__?__ That doesn't sound right…Marion frowned. She blinked at Fred again. Or was it Geoffery? Who could tell? It was probably Gary, not Fred, here to clear his name._

            "Well…" Marion yawned loudly again. "You can tell your…your…what's the word? …_brother, that I don't want to talk to him, and I want my money back!" Ginger/Fred held out an envelope for Marion._

            "Speaking of money; full refund. It's all in there. By the way, my brother wants to thank you for testing out the Combusting Confetti Cup last night… he says he'll be able to put it up for sale next week, thanks to you." Whoever-it-was grinned. "It just needs some more…er…_tweaking. Well, if that's all you have to say to me, I'm off, and I daresay I'll see you around sometime." He winked. "Oh- and go back to bed…" Marion stared after him._

            "Gastard," she muttered and headed for the couch. Halfway there she paused, thought about her last response for a second, and shook her head. She plopped on the couch and feel asleep again.

~

            Fred was chuckling audibly to himself when he left Marion's place. He knew that he already had this girl secured; you could say it was a family trait. With the exception of Prissy Percy, (and Ron, who was completely clueless) none of the six Weasley boys had every had issues with girls. Marion was no different. She was just…tired.

            It had been fun though, he had to admit. Listening to her muddle her way through names, unsure if he was George (Gus) or Fred…and even though he knew she was still mad, he couldn't complain. He wondered if she knew that she was still adorably attractive even when she'd only just woken up. And short! Every time Fred saw her now, the first thing that his mind registered was how he towered over her…she looked even smaller than she really was in her oversized pajamas.

            Fred looked back at the house. He could detect no movement, and Marion's curtains were still drawn, so she'd probably gone back to bed. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked lightly back to the shop, whistling.

            When he entered the store, George greeted him, saying,

            "So, how'd it go?"

            "She's still mad, of course…but she was barely awake and unsure if it was really me or you…so even though she's never met you, she'll be upset with both of us for a few more days, I'm sure…but not to worry," he winked. George rolled his eyes.

            "Oh, I worry alright." Fred whacked him.

            "The only thing you should be worrying about is this store; with the trouble you caused, I'm taking a few days off. It'll be nice you know? I'm almost glad you pulled that trick on Friday…"

~

            As predicted, Marion _did _stay angry for a few days, especially after Carrie (who'd been standing in a corner of the kitchen watching) reported Marion's early morning performance to her, which she had no memory of, from lack of sleep. She found Fred arrogant and conceited, and wanted nothing to do with him.

            Then, on Wednesday, after three days of avoiding Oliver Wood at work, (who most likely knew of the whole situation from Fred, and no doubt found it funny) Marion stopped at the grocer's and ran into Fred.

            Literally.

            She'd been looking through her purse for some change, as she walked towards the counter, and bumped into him in line.

            "Oh! Sorry, I- _oh._" Marion tightened her mouth and continued to look for her money.

            "Hey," Fred grabbed her by the elbow. "I told you, it wasn't _me who did all of that stuff- it was George." This reminded Marion of the episode Saturday morning, and she blushed._

            "Yes, well…"

            "Yes well _what?" Fred demanded. "I don't see why you're mad at me, and I think that it's time you snap out of it." Marion flushed even more for being so childish, but she couldn't help herself. She didn't answer Fred, and he moved forward to pay for his groceries. As Marion paid for her fruit, she saw Fred rearranging his bags just outside the door, waiting for her._

            "Well?" He said when she came out. "Is there a reason you're mad at me?" Still, she didn't answer. "Okay…" he shrugged, and turned to go.

            "You tricked me...well not you, but… and my hands got so dirty…" Marion said suddenly, very quietly. Fred looked at her. "They were so sticky, and I couldn't get it off, and I _hate _sticky hands, and…and…" Marion hiccupped. She was trying not to cry for being so ridiculous. It wasn't working. "Oh Fred, I'm sorry!" she wailed, and burst into tears.

            "Hey!" said Fred, startled. "It's okay, you didn't do anything! If anything, it's my fault…" Marion sobbed harder. Now that her bottled up anger was pouring out, it opened the door for her homesickness, also.

            "I… miss… New…New York!" she bawled. Fred had put his bags down and was trying to calm her down. 

            "If you don't breathe, I'm going to have to slap you, and I really don't want to," he warned her. Marion wailed at this statement, and Fred grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her towards him, and planted his lips on hers.

            The next three things happened at once. Marion shut up, hiccupped, and dropped her bag on Fred's foot. Which promptly ended the kiss.


	8. Carrie's Chapter

**Author's Note: Hello all! This is Marion, happy to say that Carrie and I are getting back on a roll, and updates should be getting more regular. We want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far… It means a lot to us, and we hope that as our updates happen more frequently you will all continue to read and review. **

As you all know, the last chapter was Marion's Chapter, due to the fact that Carrie was unable to write for a while. I finally dragged that girl kicking and screaming ( ;) Love ya Carrie) out of her hiding spot and made her write… So now we've got a nice, looong Carrie's Chapter! Enjoy!

Carrie exited the pet store and set out against the chilling wind of the late fall. In her arms there was a small, blue bundle, whose nose was twitching wildly in the air. After a few blocks, she arrived at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Inc., the newly acquired meeting spot for the gang. It had become habit after work to go to the shop and help Fred, George, and Nancy close up. Then, about half an hour later, Marion and Oliver would come from the Quidditch stadium. The six of them would hang out, catch up, and talk for a while, and then all departed back to their houses. (Or sometimes _elsewhere_.)

This particularly cold day of the late fall, Carrie put the blue, wriggling puppy onto the counter, and went to make everyone some tea. When she came back five minutes later, she knew there was a problem. Fred and George had found the puppy, and were debating what to do.

"Make it spotted!" One called.

"Striped!" yelled the other.

"Spotted!"

"Striped!"

"Spotted!"

"Striped!"

"Spot-"

"_Nothing," Carrie intervened, "You are not to do anything to that puppy." The twins looked at her for a moment, and then at the exact same time a spell shot from each of their wands. Fred's was yellow, and George's blue; now the puppy had yellow stripes and blue spots. _

Carrie was furious. "You idiots, you…you… aah," she muttered, trying to stay calm. She marched over to the puppy, elbowing both twins quite forcefully on the way, (which left them gasping for air) and picked it up. He didn't seem to mind the color change too much – in fact, Carrie was quite sure that he didn't even know. 

"I…cannot…believe…you…two…incompetent…blundering,…IDIOTS!" She said through gritted teeth. 

"What'd they do _now?_" Marion asked, who had just walked in, along with Oliver, as they heard Carrie's last sentence. Nancy had also reappeared from the storage room.

Carrie was too angry to speak, so she simply showed the dog to the crowd. Marion was not happy. "Carrie…no dog. I told you. You have to take him back."

"B-but no one will buy him! Because he's blue! Or, _was_ blue, or _will_ be blue-" she shot a glare at the twins, "- once he's all fixed up. People only buy purple puppies, they don't like _blue_ puppies. We HAVE to take him."

Marion was clearly having difficulties with the decision. She adored dogs as well, but she felt that it was just too much to have one around the house at the moment. The room fell silent. Five pairs of eyes were on her. She sighed. "Alright, bring him home… but if there's someone else that wants him, he's going _there_, ok?"

Carrie ran over and hugged her best friend with one arm- the other was holding the dog. "Thank you Marion, you won't regret this!" 

"I'm _sure_ I won't…" Marion muttered sarcastically, once Carrie had let go and turned around. 

"Now, how do we get this off?" Carrie asked. 

"We'll do it!" chorused the twins at once. She just glared. Nancy stepped out from behind the counter. 

"I've got it." She smiled, and with a quick swish of her wand, the puppy was blue again. 

"Ok, now that _that_ is settled…" said Oliver, who had been silently watching the scene in front of him. He turned his attention to Carrie. "Where are we going tonight? It's getting too cold to just walk about aimlessly…" 

"There is that new restaurant that just opened around the corner- sort of a small café… thing-y..." Nancy suggested.

Carrie and Oliver agreed to it, and left the rest to figure out their own plans. At the time of their departure, Marion wanted to go shopping, and Fred just wanted a quick nap and then dinner. Meanwhile, Nancy and George closed up shop and made their separate ways home. 

On the way, Carrie and Oliver stopped at Carrie's (and Marion's) house to drop off the puppy, and also to allow Carrie to change- she had puppy fur all over her. She gave the puppy to Oliver to hold, ripped the blanket off Marion's bed, and brought it over so that the puppy could lay on it. After Oliver put him down on it, she took the sheets off the bed and put them over the puppy so that he wouldn't be cold. And just to make sure that he was very comfortable, she grabbed Marion's pillows and slid them under the head of the puppy. 

"Cute," Oliver said, rolling his eyes, looking at the sleeping puppy, which looked quite pampered. "So what are you going to name him?"

"I don't know yet- I guess I'll have to talk to Marion about it. But for now he's named Puppy."

Oliver laughed, and Carrie smiled back. She told him to watch over the sleeping puppy while she ran to her room and changed quickly, and then the two made their way to dinner. When they arrived at the café, they took a small table on the side. Although Carrie was mainly used to seeing purple from Pete's store, she had to admit that the blue, green, and other cool colors covering the café looked very nice. 

"All of this green brings out your eyes." Oliver said, looking from her green sweater (once again, she had decided to wear muggle clothes while going out – they were much more flattering, and much warmer.) to the green awnings surrounding them.

Carrie felt her usual shyness coming forward. She hated it when this happened. "Oh, no," she muttered, flushing a bit, "they're really – they're, er… well they're weird." She was getting mad at herself for stuttering like that. "They sort of change colors sometimes…I guess with all of the green around they look green…"

She suddenly became very interested in the menu – she didn't want to look up into his own beautiful green eyes just yet. The waitress came shortly, and after they placed their order they got into a talk about Fred and Marion. (Needless to say, Carrie was happy for the subject change)

"I think that Marion is a little… a little homesick." Carrie explained. "I just wish there was a way that she could be happier here…"

"Are _you_ homesick?" Oliver asked.

"What?"

At this point the food came, and the interruption gave Carrie some time to think about the question she definitely had heard. 

"Are you homesick?" He later repeated. 

"I don't know… sort of, I guess…"

"_Sort _of?"

"We – Marion and I – have lived in New York all our lives. We grew up there, went to school there, we knew _everything_ about the city. Then neither of us could find jobs, because in the whole huge city there's only a small wizarding population. I was so excited to be coming here – we were finally going to get out of that place, finally able to go somewhere. And then here – it's the total opposite. I barely know anyone, and everything is strange and new."

"You talk too fast." He laughed, and took a bite of his food. The rest of the dinner passed with a little awkwardly, with a bit of small talk. They finished, and Oliver got up and paid the bill. When they walked outside he turned to her, his eyes boring into hers. "You've still got me here, you know."

"Of course!" She said, as they walked. When they got to her place, the strolled up to the small front porch.

Oliver suddenly leaned forward and put his arms around her, and carefully pulled her in for a kiss. (Which she did not object to…) To tell the truth, she had been hoping that he would. Carrie was not sure how long it lasted – a few seconds maybe, or a few minutes, but it seemed that as quickly as it happened it was over.

"Goodnight, Oliver." She said, slipping into her house.

"Goodnight."


End file.
